Editor:
Reading Carole Rubin's diatribe against me (Coast Reporter, Nov. 13) made me feel that if I am ever ambushed by a wildcat, I will know what to expect. She accuses me of causing a "rift" in the community by opposing closure of the Pender Harbour landfill, but she admits a Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) survey found over 80 per cent agree with my position. Some rift!
The SCRD finds itself in the ridiculous position of running away from its own survey, a position Carole apes, saying the people of Area A need "educating." If Carole had been in Pender Harbour a little longer she would know that an overwhelming majority of the people in Area A have historically opposed closure of their landfill and that 80 per cent is no mistake. Now the SCRD is doing another costly survey. If it fails, will they scrap it, too, and keep "educating " Harbourites until they get what they want?
Carole and her small group have been trying to "educate" Harbourites by claiming that the landfill poses a great environmental hazard, saying "all the experts' reports" support her. She is obviously unaware that the SCRD contracted Microbial Technologies Inc. to install a state-of-the-art leachate treatment system at the Pender landfill in 2001 and the latest study by Sperling Hansen Associates (SHA) reports "the existing leachate treatment system was working well" and the landfill has "limited environmental impact." (SHA, Dec. 2008) At the two public meetings SCRD staff have made clear that regular test samples meet government water quality standards and the disposal site itself passes regular Ministry of Environment inspection.
Carole accuses me of misrepresentation and fear mongering, but I'd say the shoe is on the other foot. Hopefully no unwary Harbourites will be misled by her brand of "educating."
Howard White
Madeira Park
